Starfish: A warning from the past regarding polarization in Science and Society

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Summary of the principal findings

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  A summary of the principal findings  and some propositions regarding starfish outbreaks, including ChatGPT questions Dr Peter James and Dr Robert Endean at Green Island.  Increased sub-tidal abundance of blue linckia could precede COTS outbreaks . Most starfish are rare, cryptic, toxic and in one case even venomous .   The preferred prey is the species attacked preferentially by the predator .  Heron Reef (23° 27′ S, 151° 57′ E) Capricorn Group at southern end of GBR .  The attack of the triton elicits an escape response by the starfish .  Coral reef starfish species may trigger larval settlement in the giant triton .  “ a complex twist to more typical asteroid life-history strategies .”  Many eggs may never be fertilised when adult populations exist at low densities .  Cryptic species have been recognized by Byrne and Walker (2007) .  Giant triton attacks and consumes crown-of-thorns starfish.  (Beaver Reef, 2002).  S...
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The Northern Star and "The Association".

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  A collection of newspaper articles on the Northern Star from the early 1950s, together with links to Trove. The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Friday 20 January 1950, page 6 http://trove.nl a.gov.au/newspaper/article/22805730 But Pip and mate want new ship. WITH £30,000 to spend enterprising Pip and Yvonne Bolton have sailed a former patrol boat to Melbourne from Cairns in search of a cargo ship to carry on trade with the Indies. Since December, Mr. Bolton has been captain of the "Northern Star" - a 112ft. Converted Navy Fairmile – which does luxury tourist runs from Cairns to Thursday Island in winter. The sea holds no mysteries for him. Bom in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England, Pip went to sea when he was 13, rising to be bosun on the "Aquitania" when he was only 24. In 1938 he came to Australia, but returned to England and joined the merchant navy when war began. With his wife it is a different story. When Yvonne met Pip in Cairns during the war she was a ...
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The Giant Triton: List the Giant Triton in Appendix 2 of CITES

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  While the giant triton may be protected on the Great Barrier Reef and elsewhere in Queensland, there is still no evidence this protection has resulted in restored populations of the giant triton. However, there is evidence of continuing illegal collection and trade in Indonesia where it is also legally protected. It is now worth reconsidering whether the existing local protection is sufficient or whether further international protection is required by listing the Giant Triton in Appendix 2 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The giant triton ( Charonia tritonis )is a beautiful shell and a well-known predator of the crown-of-thorns starfish ( Acanthaster planci ). In many parts of the third world, it is still being collected in large numbers and sold to tourists as ornaments. As you admire the beautiful shell, spare a thought for the hungry mollusc that died. And don’t forget, they live on starfish. Many species of starfish are known to outbreak...
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